By integrating the Civic Pay app with automated retail solutions and smart vending machines, these partners will introduce the first real-world Civic Pay use cases, where people can prove identity and pay for a product in a single transaction. Together, these companies reportedly represent more than one million connected vending machines.

The Civic Network expansion marks a big step towards Civic's larger vision: to give everyone a digital identity that they own and control. Most transactions require some form of identity verification and building identity verification into payment functionality simplifies that process. Vending machines make digital identity accessible and with the Civic Pay app, once users are verified, they are able to use the same verification over and over again, further streamlining the identity and payment process.

"The first step in making digital identity attainable is making it accessible for the everyday consumer," said Civic chief executive and cofounder Vinny Lingham. "Vending machines represent an introduction to the mass market, where people can see how digital identity functions in the real world, as well as opening up an entirely new market for automated retail. We're thrilled to partner with leaders in the automated retail industry, and working together, we look forward to making digital identity available and usable."

Civic demonstrated the Civic Pay app with a variety of vending machines at the National Automatic Merchandising Association NAMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center last month. Civic said it will be working to connect customers to the vending machine partners that best meet their needs.

"Speaking with Civic, we immediately recognized the vision and how identity verification could help AAEON embark on an entirely new market of vending opportunities. The combination of identity and payment enables a frictionless user experience that allows for a new subset of product offerings," said AAEON general manager Paul Yang. "We're excited to be one of Civic's first vending machine partners, and we look forward to implementing Civic technology to provide a cutting-edge customer experience."

"With more than 800,000 vending machines, we're always looking for innovative concepts to introduce. The vending machine market is flourishing and being the first to adopt industry-changing technology is critical to providing the best user experience," said SandenVendo chief executive and president Mike Weiser. "With combined identity, payment and rewards solutions, Civic Pay is a perfect fit for our vending fleet, and we're excited to implement this technology and help make digital identity more accessible."

Civic says it has more than 200 partners and is connecting businesses and individuals around the world to make sharing and verifying identity information a safe, private and seamless experience.